remote_ - uninstall ep - 12" - meanwhile [mean006]
smallfish records review
We're pleased and excited to announce the arrival of the hotly anticipated (at least it is here at Smallfish) new 12" from our very own Remote_ on London's Meanwhile label. Where last year's 'Celestion' EP was shimmering and beautifully minimal in a more dubbed-out kind of way, the A-side of 'Uninstall' is more of a purist Detroit work with the more bass-heavy and reduced tracks residing on the flip-side. Lead track 'Public Service' recalls the heady days of the early to mid '90's with it's dense structure and musical qualities. It's backed up with a wicked bassline and subtle 303s that cut in and out of the mix to add some serious spice and the overall feeling is of a very complete sounding, sparkling piece of music. Some might say Model 500, others would probably point more towards Stasis or Nuron as influences. The second track, 'Footsteps', works on a similar, tightly structured idea, but uses more of a House-style rhythmic element. 4/4 beats and a catchy basslines are, once again, joined by some truly deep acid lines and little reversed synths. It's incredibly funky and lively and is more similar to some of the very early Morgan Geist or Titonton sounds (from the Metamorphic days) than anything else. The B-side kicks off with the lush, spacious dub Techno of 'Tundra' which literally drips with reverb and echo and features a whopping great pulsating bass tone... big stuff indeed with nicely stuttering edits and a rolling flavour. The final track 'From The Past' rolls the EP out in deep, minimal style with a beautiful, hypnotic chord and a big boom bass over a sweet 4/4 beat. In essence it's a varied and enticing EP that's got that true Techno sound in bundles and should appeal to both fans of the other Meanwhile records and people who enjoy Delsin or Arne Weinberg material. Props to Remote_ and Meanwhile for this one. Recommended... naturally!
[www.smallfish.co.uk]
boomkat review
This brand new 12" from the London-based Meanwhile mob sees the fantastic Remote getting a second airing following the handclap reception bestowed upon label debut 'Celestion' a few months back. Cut from the same dub-fingered techno groove as Model 500, Detroit Escalator Company and Deep Chord, Remote has been blessed with the ability to forge lustrous fissures of minimal goodness from a pantry of deep and effervescent elements. Kicking off the A with 'Public Service' and 'Footprints', Remote indulges in some soul-pocked techno that is simultaneously deep yet wonderfully uncluttered - ticking along with a muscular predilection that manages to avoid the grandstanding gestures which would have destroyed the spacious spirit that makes it so alluring. Techno at it's most pure, the back is similarly blessed - bringing a richer vein of dub condensation to bear on the same territory as that of 'Celestion'; with Remote more than whetting the appetite what's to come. Killer twelve.
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remote_ - changes in style - cd - concentrated people [cp003cd]
smallfish records review
Following on from last summer's 'Celestion EP' on Meanwhile Records, Smallfish's very own Remote_ proudly unveils his first full-length CD, this time on the excellent Concentrated People label. Taking the form of a selection of tracks recorded over the last 7 years, it's a melodic and predominantly Techno-based piece of work. There are numerous nods to both Detroit and Berlin and a liberal sprinkling of 'proper' Acid lines - i.e. not distorted and screaming, just deep and friendly. From the opening moments of 'Delay' you can tell where his influences lie and the deep, hypnotic 4/4 sound carries through most of the CD. 'A'Tonal' was previously released on the Celestion EP but appears here for the first time on CD. 'D-Hell' found a great deal of favour with Nick Luscombe and regularly featured in his DJ sets. 'Drift' is a beatless ambient piece that filters steadily and smoothly throughout whilst 'Decimal' is the most overtly funky track on the CD recalling the work of John Tejada at times. 'Palestine Child' featured on the Vertical Cat / Remote_ split EP on Smallfish and once again this is its first appearance on CD. The appropriately named final track, 'Symmetry' is a another deep, long, Acid laced slice of Techno with a lovely warm feel and steady 4/4 beats; a perfect end to the album. Simply, fans of purist or Detroit Techno and any melodic, rhythmic electronic music should find something to engage them here. Don't be too surprised to find that this one comes recommended!!
[www.smallfish.co.uk]
groove magazine [germany] review - translation by juergen junker
You might know Remote_ from several remarkable releases on Smallfish, Meanwhile, or Neurhythmics. With his debut album, he concentrates, as with previously released 12"s, on straight Dub-Techno, and orientates himself with all the Reverb and Delay Aesthetic on Berlin and Detroit. However, this album is not just a mere copy of old Basic Channel records, or awestruck prostration before overseas producers. No, Remote_ arranges with "Changes in Style" 9 consistently pretty tracks, which like "Lost" sometimes seem a bit too restrained, and run too conservatively. The tracks and the album win in substance and character, when the restrained concept makes way for more playfulness and then feels more direct and engrossed. Examples being "A-Tonal" or "Palestine Child". The favourite track definitely is "Radiant", whose beat-less brilliance is very reminiscent of the heydays of UK Electronica.
[www.groove.de]
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remote_ - celestion ep - 12" - meanwhile [mean004]
smallfish records review
The fourth release on the excellent Meanwhile label comes from our very own
Remote_ and is another example of why this London based imprint is increasingly
growing into a force to be reckoned with. Remote_ drops four tracks that are are
at once instantly in line with the label's output so far, but subtly different
and considerably more dub based. The opening cut, 'Celestion [Edit]' is a
relentless, string driven groove with a heavy sub-bass line and a subtle and
subliminal melody line that creates a dreamy feel, but with solid beats. Sound
Hacker remix 'Celestion' into a staggering slice of jittery Electronica with
acres of depth and atmosphere that definitely brings to mind Monolake and
Autechre without actually sounding like them. 'A-Tonal', the first track on the
flip, references Basic Channel and Deepchord with its stripped down yet grooving
style. Metallic stabs and piles of reverb combine to create an echo-wise beast
that slowly unfolds over time. The final track, 'Permafrost' is, as the name
would suggest, an icy cold piece of music. Beatless, but incredibly dense, it
has an underwater feel and layer upon layer of alien-sounding strings and
drones. Varied and complete sounding, this one is definitely for you if you like
Meanwhile's other releases or Berlin and Detroit Techno. Recommended
(unsurprisingly!)
[www.smallfish.co.uk]
fail website review
The title track is house manna from heaven; as floaty as expected, only the dub interrupts stop this from sashaying uncomfortably over into trance. The B-side tracks pay further homage to the shrine of Basic Channel. Taut, damp kicks bob over elastic Bezier-curve basslines. 'Permafrost' dispenses with the beats altogether with a slow, linear boat journey across the polar ice caps.
[www.failme.net]
tesselate website review
"Celestion (edit)" starts it off with a very wavey , fluffy wedbe of audio that wobbles and flips towards you like a jellyfish caught in the grip of a helicopters downforce. A very subtle drumbeat joins in, and adds a fresh element to the mix with a pinch of intrigue that heightens the beachfront feeling off this one. It's all about the digitised water lapping over your hot feet, as the persussive force of the track sends out a pulse of energy all the way to the horizon and back, in a successful attempt to spread the magic. Shell popping stuff.
"A-tonal" is another lesson in atmosphere creating electronics from Remote. Soothing and reverbing washes of audio skip about like a fish out of water, and send skywards arched sections of undamaged code into the blue hazy distance on a mission to capture any travelling knowledge in is path. Smooth stuff. " Permafrost" takes a slightly different route, and drops a power rich hum to test your defences, and doesnt let up. This one rumbles, turns and investigates everything it comes across, with a presence, that has you checking over your shoulder to make sure you arent being tracked. Very rich.
This release from Remote_ was very interesting to listen to, and has a lot of depth and scope to it. Its one for the sunny days on a rich green hillside, whilst you share a glass of energon with Optimus Prime. Simple, clever and full of life, not my normal cup of tea, music wise but refreshing anyhow.
Take a listen.
[www.tesselate.me.uk]
boomkat review
Offering an absolute antithesis to the Techno/House tendancy to churn out twelves with little regard to style, content or quality, London’s Meanwhile imprint has slowly and meticulously started to piece together a catalogue of releases that’s triggered envy and admiration from many quarters far and wide. This latest installment comes from Smallfish operative Remote_, known to some from his early split EP with Stasis on their eponymous imprint a few years back, and from the ample evidence provided here an absolute master of the deep, dubbed-out and spacious world of minimally effervescent emissions. “Celestion” works in its subtle but remorseless progression – there’s something so right about the build of this track – from the moment the lustrous pads and sultry bassline roll in this is wonderfully classic four-four loveliness complete with a filtery and heavily gated percussive drop that just smells of balearic bliss. “A-Tonal” brings to mind nothing less than the dubwise – electronic axis, so effortlessly described by Basic Channel and Chain Reaction – a sound that’s become timeless, open and deep – Likemind and Deepchord both spring readily to mind. Special mention should go to the Soundhacker remix of ‘Celestion’ too – plangent bass and a skittering rhythm revision, fairly transporting the listener into a parallel reality. Get everything on this label without even a moment’s hesitation – and in the meantime get onto this fine fine artist with an insistent plea for more of the good stuff as this is surely one of the deepest twelves of the year.
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vertical cat / remote_ - split - 12" - smallfish records[12fish002]
de:bug review [translated by juergen junker]
Smallfish comes with a limited series of 12”” of new acts, that are all perfect. Vertical Cat starts with “In Love”, a minimal sleeper-track, that slowly creeps at you with big, dark swingy jazz-basslines, accentuated with little synth-pads, of which it doesn’t need more than a few, to get the feel under your skin. “XS (non XS) is a completely different track with beautifully delayed bell sounds, that create something almost sacred in the vein of earliest Joyrex style. Remote_ gets even sweeter with “Palestine Child”, and creates the mood smooth grooves with a slightly reduced anthem sound, somewhere between Detroit and Minimal House, that nibble so carefully on your ears, as if it was an amoeba. “Face Up” on the other hand is an almost classic UK-Detroit track of the first hour. very, very beautiful record.
[www.de-bug.de]
whistlebump review
Gotta big this up. One of my fave record shops has set up their own label, and if you visit it with any regularity it won't surprise you that this is very much coming from the electronic corner. Both Vertical Cat and Remote get two tracks each, and there are no duffers. I particularly liked VC's 'In Love' a strident piece of mellow Detroit-tinged techno, whilst Remote's 'Face Up' sounds like somebody's found the keys to Derrick May's safe and put out an unreleased session from 1987. Keep your eye out for future releases. CM
[www.whistlebump.co.uk]
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stasis / remote_ - split - 7" - smallfish records [clown]
post everything review
First release from a new label run by the London record shop of the same name, and a nice heavy seven-inch it is too. Remote_’s contribution is a superior slice of supine dub-techno, while Stasis does John Carpenter-style low-budget slasher flick music. A promising start – but print the labels the right way round next time if you want us to know who’s who. Tsk. (TM)
[www.posteverything.com]
de:bug review [translated by juergen junker]
The London based record shop Smallfish Records starts with a 7” series. Welcome to the club. To lure us though with this generally fine idea, you will have to give yourself a bit more inspired, kids. Stasis works quite disorientated around, to finally find quite a strange groove, around which he hints all kinds of dark elements. I would call this a jam, and would have probably deleted the tape 2 weeks after recording. On the other side, Remote comes with very beautiful, but “100 times heard before” smooth dub-techno. That doesn’t hurt, but that was it.
[www.de-bug.de]
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